Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Dodgers (Page 52 of 70)

Beneath the cliffs of insanity

Friday’s 9-0 loss to the Mets marked the 11th time in Los Angeles Dodger history that the team could have achieved the same result simply by forfeiting.

 The Dodger offense in 45 innings since Monday:
  • Total baserunners: 39
  • Runners to get as far as first base: 20
  • Runners to get as far as second base: 15
  • Runners to get as far as third base: 2
  • Runners to get as far as home: 2

It was a lovely evening at the ballpark last night to watch futility.

While wondering whether Campbell’s sells alphabet soup with all the letters between A-N and P-Z removed …

  • Carlos Lee became a rumored trade target for the Dodgers last night in a deal that could cost them former first-round pick Garret Gould. Chad Moriyama analyzesthe pitfalls of that deal. An excerpt:

    … Carlos Lee’s current slash line is .290/.342/.412/.754, which is in line with his recent production, and he projects to hit .276/.328/.434/.762 the rest of the way. Additionally, consider that he’s a terrible defender in the outfield and a fringe to poor defender at first base.

    James Loney’s current line is .236/.303/.323/.626, which is partially the result of lower than normal BABIP. He projects to hit .266/.327/.387/.714 the rest of the way. Plus, he plays above-average to plus defense at first.

    Now 50 points difference in OPS is nothing to scoff at, but factor in the defense and then consider that Loney has a .802 OPS career against righties (.669 against lefties) and Juan Rivera  has a .821 career OPS against lefties (.747 against righties). Now the gap is basically non-existent.

    You know how to tell that this trade is an iffy upgrade? When it’s even arguable as to whether a potential acquisition is an improvement over James Loney and Juan Rivera. …

    Update: Reports online this morning indicate the Dodgers and Astros have agreed to terms, and the deal hinges on Lee’s approval.

  • Mark Ellis is beginning a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga tonight, writes Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com. He could be activated inside of a week.
  • Andre Ethier could return to the lineup as soon as Monday, writes Alex Angert of MLB.com, but it’s a dicey proposition.
  • The Dodgers have signed first-round pick Corey Seager in a deal that features a $2.35 million bonus, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Times.
  • At Minor League Ball, John Sickels started a conversation about whether baseball has become too expensive for the average kid. Alex Remington offers his own thoughts at Fangraphs. The commenters in each post offer wide-ranging responses.

Age is just a number (even if it’s the wrong number)

Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, 3B
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Bobby Abreu, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
James Loney, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Aaron Harang, P

I’ve spent most of the year thinking I’m the wrong age. What does this have to do with the Dodgers and R.A. Dickey? Maybe nothing at all, but find out the scoop at Los Angeles Magazine’s CityThink blog.

Zach Lee makes successful Double-A debut

Dodger pitching prospect Zach Lee, who turns 21 in September, pitched six innings of one-run ball Wednesday in his Double-A debut, allowing eight baserunners and striking out seven. He threw 81 pitches.

Elsewhere …

  • Buster Olney offers a selection of potential Dodger trade targets at ESPN.com. Mostly, I see a list of players you really wouldn’t want or that just might require too much in return, but I’ve never been good at constructing hypothetical trades.
  • In one for the “You can never have enough pitching” Marching and Chowder Society, the Yankees lost C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte to injury inside of 24 hours. Jay Jaffe has more at SI.com’s Hit and Run.
  • Former UCLA star Trevor Bauer makes his major-league debut tonight, looking to give Arizona a fuel injection in their pursuit of the Giants and Dodgers.
  • Tal’s Hill in center field of Minute Maid Park in Houston might be leveled, according to Zach Levine of the Houston Chronicle (via Hardball Talk). It probably has no place in a major-league park, but I kind of liked it, as it kindled childhood memories of playing ball even when the field was less than ideal.
  • The latest from Josh Wilker.

0 me, 0 my, 0 no …

Dodgers	000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000– 0 16 1
Giants	430 010 00x 000 200 00x 002 010 00x–13 31 0

0 yes.

It’s the first time one team has thrown three consecutive shutouts against the Dodgers since 1937.

Any runs in these stockings?

As painful as the Dodgers’ 21-inning scoreless streak has been, it’s hardly unprecedented.

Dodger Thoughts, August 8, 2007:

L.A. 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 - 0
Opp. 020 100 000 301 000 00x 001 000 00x - 8

Dodger Thoughts, July 30, 2003:

L.A. 000 000 000 01 010 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 010 000 000 000 000 000-3
Opp. 000 000 000 00 000 100 000 000 001 000 010 00x 000 000 000 020 000 00x-5

That latter link points to a couple of occasions in which the Dodgers were held to a total of two runs in a five-game stretch.

* * *

Dodgers at Giants, 12:45 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Jerry Hairston Jr. 2B
Andre Ethier, RF
Juan Rivera, 1B
Bobby Abreu, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Chad Billingsley, P

Here is a link to Tim Lincecum’s history against active Dodgers, something I surmise influenced Don Mattingly’s lineup choices today. Juan Rivera is 6 for 14 with a walk against Lincecum, while James Loney is 8 for 42 with two walks.

Otherwise, for all of Loney’s problems, I don’t see the case for playing Rivera at first base against right-handed pitching.

But any discussion of the Dodger lineup these days feels like quibbling in the graveyard.

 

Dos Yechies

Dodgers	000 000 000 000 000 000– 0 12 1
Giants	430 010 00x 000 200 00x–10 21 0

For the first time since 2002 and the sixth time since the teams moved West in 1958, the Giants have thrown back-to-back shutouts against the Dodgers, completing the feat with tonight’s 2-0 victory over Los Angeles and Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw had one bad inning, but in the current run-scoring environment, it was costly. In the fourth inning, he surrendered a leadoff homer to Melky Cabrera, then a pair of singles with a stolen base in between for the other San Francisco run. Kershaw had to strike out the final two batters of the inning with the bases loaded to escape further damage.

Speaking of escapes, Kershaw took a liner to the ribs in the fifth inning, bringing forth flashes of every bad thing that’s ever happened to a pitcher, but nonetheless made his way through until the end of the sixth, leaving with eight strikeouts against 10 baserunners. Half of those 10 baserunners reached base in the fourth.

Paiving the way for their two shutouts, the Dodgers had another rare back-to-back feat when for the second night in a row, Dee Gordon drew a leadoff walk but was erased when Elian Herrera grounded into a double play. The team’s best look at the game was in the seventh inning, when Juniors Jerry Hairston and Tony Gwynn each singled with one out.  But A.J. Ellis, who was 2 for 2, struck out on a 2-2 sinker in the dirt, and then, batting for Kershaw, James Loney hit what for him constituted a long drive  – a fly to medium center field.

Ryan Vogelsong pitched seven innings for San Francisco, allowing seven hits and no walks after Gordon. He struck out three. Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla finshed things up.

Scoreless in their past 21 innings, the Dodgers have 13 runs in their past eight games, with one home run and 18 walks.

The cruel shoes

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15 p.m.
Kershaw CXXXII: Kershawn the Waterfront
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Juan Rivera, 1B
Bobby Abreu. LF
Jerry Hairston Jr. 2B
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

My latest piece for Los Angeles Magazine’s CityThink blog looks at how the past week for the Dodgers has played mind games with us, not unlike a certain pair of shoes made famous by Steve Martin.

Though it might seem as if the Dodgers have been struggling for quite some time, the team was 10-7 (.588) in June and held the best record in Major League Baseball until just a week ago. As it is, despite losing six of its past seven games, Los Angeles still has the top mark in the National League, a two game lead in the NL West and a four-game cushion for a playoff spot.

Nevertheless, the month has taken an ugly turn. The Dodgers’ on-base percentage (.301) and slugging percentage (.302) in June form a nearly matching pair of cruel shoes. The highest OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) belongs to Bobby Abreu at .740; no other Dodger is breaking the .700 club. …

Read the rest at CityThink.

Mickey Hatcher a Dodger again (Note: not on active roster)

Some afternoon news and notes …

  • Mickey Hatcher has returned to the Dodger organization as a special assistant to the general manager, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Hardball Talk).

    Update: An official Dodgers press release says Hatcher “will devote time helping with player development as well as assisting the major-league staff.”

    Hatcher hit one home run in the 1988 regular season, two in the ’88 World Series and two more for the rest of his major-league career. In 1990, his final season with the Dodgers, Hatcher OPSed .498 in 85 games. So don’t expect him activated.

    Manny Mota, on the other hand …
  • A man wearing a Dodger jacket disappeared after Monday’s game and is suspected to have fallen into the bay adjacent to AT&T Park, according to Ellen Huet of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • The ownership group that includes Peter O’Malley, his sons Brian and Kevin, nephews Peter and Tom Seidler and golfer Phil Mickelson have been given an exclusive negotiating window to buy the San Diego Padres, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com. Sale price is expected to be in the $800 million neighborhood. Though the former Dodger owner is the biggest name in the group (at least for readers of this website), it’s the next generation that figures to be the long-term key players.
  • Still not much new on the disappearance of Daron Sutton from the Arizona Diamondbacks broadcast team, as Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic notes.
  • Clayton Kershaw reached Double-A 14 months after being drafted. (He had the advantage of pitching in Rookie ball the year he was picked.) Zach Lee, who was drafted in June 2010 and began his pro career in April 2011, has been promoted to Double-A. Writing more on the subject for True Blue L.A. is Craig Minami.
  • The one-time Fabulous Forum has been purchased by the Madison Square Garden Co., which will renovate the venue for performance use.
  • Here’s the latest health update from Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy.

One-run fun

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, LF
Andre Ethier, RF
Juan Rivera, 1B
Jerry Hairston Jr. 2B
A.J. Ellis, C
Juan Uribe, 3B
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Nathan Eovaldi, P

To set up the three-game series between the Giants and Dodgers that starts tonight with the Giants exactly three games out of first place in the National League West, I participated in ESPN.com’s Triple Play feature with Molly Knight and Christina Kahrl. Here’s an excerpt:

1. What’s the one thing baseball fans should be watching for in this series?

Jon Weisman (@dodgerthoughts), Dodger Thoughts: Nail-biters. The Dodgers and Giants are first and third in the majors in one-run games played this year — each with winning records (18-13 for the Dodgers, 16-11 for the Giants). Much will be made of the starting pitching for both teams, but odds are this series will be decided by the two teams’ bullpens.

I have hereby set one of the teams up for a 12-1 slaughter.

For more reading, here’s a series preview from Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles. I don’t know that I buy his premise that this is the first serious Giants-Dodgers series in a while, but it’s still, as always with Brisbee, an entertaining read.

The cherry on top is Sam Miller’s piece today at Baseball Prospectus, where he chronicles everything Vin Scully has ever said on the air about Buster Posey.

June 23 game chat

Dodgers at Angels, 4:15 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Andre Ethier, RF
Bobby Abreu, DH
Juan Rivera, LF
James Loney, 1B
Elian Herrera, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
(Chris Capuano, P)

Dodger Defcon ratings

Starting today, I’m making periodic contributions to the CityThink blog at Los Angeles Magazine. My first piece looks at the state of the Dodgers from a War Games perspective. Check it out …

Good teams have bad weeks, and one bad week like the Dodgers are having (with four losses in a row, including Friday’s 8-5 come-from-ahead defeat against the Angels) doesn’t ruin a season. At the same time, people have feared all along that the Dodgers are a team living on the brink of destruction in a dangerous baseball world.

In the spirit of War Games, here’s a snapshot of which Dodger problems are tic-tac-toe and which are global thermonuclear war …

Read the rest at CityThink …

June 22 game chat

Dodgers at Angels, 7:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Andre Ethier, RF
Bobby Abreu, DH
Juan Rivera, LF
James Loney, 1B
Adam Kennedy, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
(Chad Billingsley, P)

At least Kershaw pitched well

Clayton Kershaw threw eight innings of one-run, seven-strikeout ball, allowing five baserunners, but the Dodgers managed only four baserunners of their own and lost their third straight game to Oakland, 4-1, on a walkoff home run by Yoenis Cespedes off Josh Lindblom.

Juan Rivera had two of the Dodgers’ three hits, driving in Elian Herrera (who doubled) with the only Dodger run.

June 21 game chat

Dodgers at Athletics, 12:35 p.m.
Kershaw CXXXI: KershaR2D2
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, LF
Andre Ethier, RF
Juan Rivera, 1B
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Ivan De Jesus Jr., DH
Juan Uribe, 3B
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Matt Treanor, C
(Clayton Kershaw, P)

Slump

In five games over the past seven days, the Dodgers a .201 batting average, .273 on-base percentage and .252 slugging percentage.  No Dodger starter has an OPS above .700. No Dodger has hit a home run.

The Dodgers’ best hitters in this period have probably been Elian Herrera (5 for 20 with two doubles and two walks) and Juan Uribe, who has a single and three doubles in 17 at-bats. The remaining Dodger hitters have one extra-base hit in 141 at-bats.

They have five home runs in June, none since Juan Rivera’s three-run shot off the Angels June 12.

And yet, as Baseball Prospectus writes, “The Dodgers’ winning percentage without Matt Kemp is better than any National League team’s winning percentage.”

Not that we don’t want Kemp back …

* * *

  • Josh Lindblom’s efforts to help the people of Skid Row are chronicled in detail by Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports.
  • Here’s a great four-minute video piece on Bill Murray and baseball by Amy K. Nelson of SB Nation.

 

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